New Miss SUU Brings Humor to the Crown

As spotlights rose on the auditorium stage Wednesday night, one of seven contestants was crowned the brand new Miss SUU, next in line after 2017 Miss SUU Baylee Terrones, a junior communication major from Cedar City.

The evening began with the talent portion of the competition. Andria Burdick, a senior criminal justice major from Loveland, Colorado, began the night with a lighting rig she programmed to rotating music.

Haley Mineer, a junior elementary education major from Parowan, performed a Bollywood style tap-dance number, with a purple vested partner appearing on stage halfway through.

Tiffany Chin, a senior biology major from South Jordan, set down a chair with a water bottle stand-up comedian style, impersonating voices ranging from Gollum in “Lord of the Rings” to Jennifer Coolidge from “A Cinderella Story.”

Laura Kehr, a junior exercise science major from Layton, ended the section with a dance number. Kher danced across the stage in a loose white shirt to the famed Charlie Chaplin speech about equality.

The second portion of the evening consisted of “spirit-wear,” where contestants dressed up in the best representation of their school spirit.

Katie Wills, a senior communication major from Missoula, Montana, dressed up in Indiana Jones garb, waving the whip above her head as hosts read out a short bio about her life.

Emily Johnson, a sophomore nursing major from Cedar City, somersaulted onto the stage with pom poms and a ponytail, dressed as a cheerleader.

Caitlyn Lucero, a senior music major from Las Vegas, took the stage in full Thunderbird gear, complete with cardboard wings and a large yellow beak. With a few flaps, she exited other side of the stage.

The final portion of the night warranted a long “Ooooh” from the audience, prompted by host Parker Hess. Contestants dressed in ballgowns and walked around the stage for the question and evening wear portion of the event, striking poses and blowing kisses to the audience.

The contestants stopped by the lectern of the hosts, where they drew a slip of paper with the name of the judge who would ask them a question.

Twenty minutes later, the contestants lined up and the hosts announced the winners. The People’s Choice Award and Runner-Up went to Mineer, who took her flowers and sashes and stepped back in line.

Finally, Chin was crowned by Terrones as the 2018 Miss SUU, to the applause of the crowd.

“I am absolutely honored and flattered … I honestly don’t even know what to say. This is a fairy tale ending,” Chin said. The idea for running for Miss SUU began after seeing an advertisement “somewhere” and was solidified after a date said she should “totally do it.”

Terrones, while saddened by the end of her experience, said this is absolutely not the last people will see of her.

“I just want someone else to be able to experience this,” Terrones said.

More information on the rest of the week’s Homecoming events can be found here.